


Turning Gold

by Farbautidottir



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Custard the Crup, First Impressions, Gen, Harry Potter Next Generation, Metamorphmagus, POV Teddy Lupin, Photographs, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23778571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farbautidottir/pseuds/Farbautidottir
Summary: When Teddy and his gran are invited to dinner at Malfoy Manor by Gran’s estranged sister, Narcissa, he just wants to make a good impression for her. (set in 2011)Judge's Pick Winner for Round 1 of QLFC season 8.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 64





	Turning Gold

“What do the Malfoys like?” Teddy asked during his Monday night dinner with the Potters. Though he lived with his gran while he wasn’t at Hogwarts, he still went over to their house at least three times a week for dinner.

“They love gold,” Harry sneered as he batted down the green pea Lily threw at his face with a squealing laugh. He gave her a stern look and said, “You’re too old for that kind of behavior, little miss.”

The nearly three-year-old shouted, “No!” and knocked her sippy cup off the table in defiance, and Teddy caught it and replaced it on the table before responding to his godfather, “Gold? But I don’t have any gold.”

“Why are you asking?” Ginny asked from across the dining table as she cut Albus’ chicken into smaller pieces.

“Gran and I are going over there for dinner this weekend. Her sister invited us. They’ve been exchanging letters for a bit now, ever since Lucius Malfoy died. But, it’s the first time they’ll see each other since they stopped talking, and Gran’s really nervous about it, so I wanted to get them something to make a good impression for her.”

“Oh, well that’s very thoughtful of you! But I’m sure they will like you no matter what,” Ginny said.

“But Harry says they like gold,” Teddy said, his forehead creasing and hair turning green with worry.

“Oh, I was only joking. You don’t need to get them anything. Just be yourself.”

“You have a golden personality, Teddy!” James cried out and shoveled some chicken in his mouth.

“Exactly!” Harry smiled, catching Lily’s drink as she knocked it over again. He gave her an unforgiving glare and she let out a huff and settled into eating her peas.

Teddy’s hair turned back to its usual turquoise as he felt reassured.

“Who are the Malfoys?” Albus asked between bites.

Ginny and Harry exchanged a look and Teddy jumped in to answer for them. Albus was only five after all, not old enough for a formal lesson on the Wizarding Wars.

“My gran’s sister married into the Malfoy family. But their families had a fight over forty years ago, and Gran hasn’t seen her sister since then.”

“You can just not talk to your brother or sister ever again if you have a fight?” Albus asked, his widening eyes searching his parents’ faces before finally resting on James.

“You don’t want to talk to me ever again? Fine by me!” James grinned.

“No, not fine. That’s _not_ normal sibling behavior,” Ginny said firmly. “If you fight, you need to work it out. Your uncles and I fought all the time growing up and we’re all still friends.”

“The Malfoys are a wizarding family, but mum and I weren’t really friends with Mr. Malfoy at Hogwarts. So, that is why you don’t know them,” Harry explained to Albus.

“You told mum you hated him. I heard you,” James protested.

“James, we do not hate people,” Ginny said with exasperation. “And what did I say about listening to people’s private conversations?”

“Not to do it,” James mumbled.

“I didn’t _hate_ Draco,” Harry said, but his tone betrayed him. “Fine, I did, but he hated me, too. Anyway, I’m sure he is different now. He has a family and everything. I think his son’s your age, Al.”

“What’s his name?” Albus asked.

Ginny and Harry frowned, neither remembering the strange name.

“Scorpius,” Teddy supplied. His gran had been prepping him for Saturday ever since she received her sister’s owl that weekend.

“Scorpius,” Albus repeated softly.

“What a weird name! It’s like a scorpion.” James laughed.

“Scorpy!” Lily shouted with a giggle.

“It’s a constellation. The Black family names their kids after astronomy—like Sirius, who you’re named for,” Teddy said moodily. He hated when James got so judgmental like that.

“That’s so neat!” Albus said.

“Yeah.” Teddy smiled. “My gran’s name is Andromeda, after the galaxy.”

“Cool!” Albus said. “See, you shouldn’t be worried. People like when you know stuff about them.”

Ginny patted his arm in approval and Teddy nodded. He still wasn’t so sure though. In all his thirteen years of life experience, he found that most people—especially rich people—liked getting gifts. He would have to figure something out before Saturday.

~ ~ ~

By Wednesday, his gran’s nerves had tripled. She kept cleaning the house even though they weren’t hosting. That night she finally opened the dusty old box she’d had Teddy drag down from the attic earlier in the day.

“Come look, Teddy,” she said, patting the sofa cushion beside her.

He sat, folding in his legs underneath himself.

“This was us back during Narcissa’s first year at Hogwarts. Right before we went to Platform 9¾,” she said holding up a photo of three girls.

“That’s Bellatrix?” Teddy asked quietly, pointing to the eldest looking one. It was hard to tell her apart from his gran though, as the two looked nearly identical at that age.

“Yes,” Gran said softly.

Teddy put his arm around her as the photo began to shake in her trembling hand. Bellatrix had killed his mother—Gran’s only child—during the Battle of Hogwarts, when he was only one month old.

“Are there more photos?” he asked.

“Yes, yes, I have many,” she said with a small sniffle.

She pulled the box up into her lap and began to sift through the moving images of laughing and smiling girls in pretty dresses or Slytherin robes. There was one that flashed with a glint of light.

“What was that one?” Teddy asked.

“Which one, dear?” his gran asked going back through the recent few photos.

“That one,” Teddy said as she landed on the gleaming one.

“Oh my, how did this get in here? That’s your mum!”

“Really?” Teddy took the photo. It was of a baby, too young to stand, who was reaching upwards at whoever was taking the photo.

“Your granddad took this photo. I was sitting just over here,” she pointed just outside the frame to where the arm of a chair could be seen in the photo but nothing else beyond it.

His mum’s hair was what had caught the light before. It glittered as she squirmed side to side, trying to reach her father.

“Her hair is gold. Did she usually have gold hair?” Teddy asked. His hair, which seemed to change colors based on his emotions rather than at his will, never turned gold naturally.

“You know, she didn’t. She was usually a bubble-gum pink. I’d forgotten all about this.”

They stared at the photo in a comfortable silence and the idea came to Teddy. He would turn his hair gold for the Malfoys.

~ ~ ~

The idea proved easier than its execution. By Friday’s dinner with the Potters, Teddy was no closer to achieving his goal. James and Albus accosted him the moment he Floo’ed into the kitchen.

“Teddy, look!” James cried, shoving a piece of paper into his hands.

“I thought we were waiting until after dinner?” Ginny asked from the stove before smiling at Teddy. “Evening, Teddy!”

“But mummy, we want to give him it now!” James whined. He looked up at Teddy and asked, “You don’t want to wait, do you?”

“No, it’s fine,” Teddy assured him as he saw the paper was a drawing. A crude version of a person with teal hair featured prominently on the page. “Is this me?”

“Yes!” James exclaimed.

“And see here, this is you, but when you change,” Albus explained as he pointed to what was clearly a person with a dolphin head.

“What parts did each of you draw?”

James pointed out all the worst drawings excitedly, calling special attention to the lines that were meant to form a house—Malfoy Manor, as he explained it.

“You know it’s the Malfoy house because of what’s inside,” James added, looking to Albus.

“Here’s a big pile of gold. I drew that. And then, that’s Scorpius,” Albus pointed to a stack of circles shaded yellow and to a boy with the same yellow for his hair.

“Is that what Scorpius looks like?” Teddy asked.

“I dunno. Mum said he probably is blond like his dad. You’ll have to tell us.”

“This is a great drawing, thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” James beamed.

“I was telling James that you could just turn into a dolphin if you wanted them to like you. I think it’s really cool,” Albus explained.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Teddy said and Albus swelled with pride.

While he didn’t plan to turn into any animals for the Malfoys, it did give him an idea about how to turn his hair gold. He’d been going about it wrong, trying to modify his mood to produce the color, but he probably just needed to turn into something else. Animals were easy, and he was an animal, technically. He’d have to try to change into himself but with gold hair later. He set down the drawing on the kitchen’s island and let the boys drag him into the living room where Harry and Lily were playing blocks on the floor.

“Ted-Ted!” Lily cried and waved at him excitedly.

“Hey Lily! Hey Harry. Okay, I’m going to practice. Any requests?” Teddy asked the boys.

“A dog!” James said fast.

“What are we doing?” Harry asked, but was soon answered when Teddy morphed his face into a wiry schnauzer and gave a bark.

Everyone laughed and Harry called out, “Stag!”

It was a little more difficult to produce but Teddy managed.

“Wolf,” Albus said. “Do a wolf.”

Teddy knew the wolf was Albus’ favorite, though he didn’t really enjoy doing it because it made him think of his dad. He produced it nonetheless and felt warmed up enough to attempt to morph into himself with gold hair.

“Since when did you get pink hair?” Harry laughed.

“I’m trying something out,” Teddy explained, masking his disappointment at the failed first attempt. “So, it’s pink?”

“Bubble-gum pink, like your mum preferred,” Harry said softly.

Teddy was about to try again for gold when Ginny called from the kitchen, “Boys, come set the table. Harry, can you pour drinks?”

“I’ll get Lily,” Teddy offered as the three Potter males hurried off. He sat beside her and said, “We need to put away the blocks.”

She pointed at his head and giggled.

“Yeah, it’s pink, I know.”

“Ted-Ted gold,” she said.

“Really?” he said, searching for a mirror. There wasn’t one in the room though, so he lifted Lily up and ran into the dining room. “What color is my hair?”

“Turquoise again,” Harry said.

Teddy sighed and set Lily in her booster seat. She smiled up at him smugly, as if the two of them shared some great secret. He didn’t think she would lie about his hair being gold though, so he would just need to practice.

~ ~ ~

By the time Saturday evening arrived, Teddy had successfully turned his hair gold more than a dozen times. He and Gran approached the tall double doors of Malfoy Manor’s entryway and he squeezed her hand to calm her nerves. A house-elf answered their knock a moment later and welcomed them into the mansion. Once inside, a crup came bounding towards them, barking up a storm of excitement and running circles around Teddy before he bent down to pet it.

“That’s Custard,” a man Teddy assumed to be Draco said as he entered the foyer wearing a pleasant smile. He stuck out a hand to Gran once he reached them. “I’m Draco. You must be my Aunt Andromeda?”

“Yes, and this is my grandson, Teddy Lupin,” she replied, shaking his hand.

Draco shook Teddy’s hand and said, “Nice to meet you both. Please, come in. Everyone’s in the sitting room for cocktail hour.”

“Cocktail hour?” Gran laughed.

“Yes, my mother has always insisted upon it. Cocktails at six—”

“Dinner at seven. Yes, our mother was the same,” Gran said with a chuckle.

“She does drink less now,” Draco admitted quietly.

He guided them through a set of gilded double doors into a large and decadent room. Its far walls were a marble façade with vast portraitures adorned on them and the interior wall bore a sage green wallpapered motif of the fleur de lis. Three people were inside, two women sitting on opposing formal couches and a five-year-old boy with hair as blond as his father’s like Ginny had guessed. He scrutinized the newcomers before relaxing as Custard the crup pranced over to him.

“Astoria, darling, this is my aunt, Andromeda Tonks, and her grandson, Teddy Lupin,” Draco said to the younger woman. “This is Astoria, my wife and our son, Scorpius.”

Astoria stood to greet them, and Teddy could tell immediately she was ill. Gran had warned him about her blood malediction, but it was apparent in her slow movements and lethargic smile. He wanted to tell her to sit and not waste any energy on them, but he knew that would be rude. When they finished their niceties, she sat back down and Draco slid beside her, slipping his hand into hers as if they were puzzle pieces locking together.

“Andromeda,” the older woman said with a quavering voice.

“Narcissa,” his gran breathed out.

Narcissa stood, her hands trembling until she clasped them in front of her waist. She took a deep breath, stepping towards her sister. Teddy watched his gran to make sure she was ok.

“I’m so sorry. I’m just so, so sorry, for everything.” His great-aunt’s voice cracked.

Gran reached out to her, taking her hands and nodding.

“I forgive you,” she whispered.

Everything was silent for a moment, even the five-year-old Scorpius seemed frozen by the moment’s tension. Then Gran hugged her sister and she embraced her back. The tension was gone, replaced with a warmth. Teddy’s lips tugged into a grin and he saw Draco’s do the same.

“Oooh look at his hair!” Scorpius squealed with delight, breaking the quiet.

Everyone looked at Teddy, who hadn’t actually tried to change his hair color at all.

“Oh, Teddy,” his gran exhaled.

He could see his hair reflected in her dark eyes, the glitter of gold, like a sky full of stars. And he knew what emotion had produced the color, what his mother had been feeling in the photo. It was happiness for someone you love.


End file.
